Nowadays, there is an ever-increasing number of people which enjoy riding all-terrain vehicles and other similar off-road vehicles, either in trails specifically designed for this activity or even on totally uncharted terrains.
In order to adapt the vehicles to the increasing variety of terrains over which they are operated, companies have long been offering after-market accessories such as support racks, supplementary seats, trailer hitches, track systems, and so on.
Since these vehicles are generally subjected to shocks and vibrations, it is important that the accessories mounted to the vehicles be relatively fixedly mounted in order to prevent accidental failure or removal during use.
In the particular case of windshields, this is of utmost importance since the windshield generally protects the operator of the vehicle. Nevertheless, on some occasions, it is practical to be able to remove the windshield, at least temporarily, in order to avoid damage or for space considerations. For example, when there are low branches partially blocking a trail or when the vehicle must be stored or loaded onto a trailer for transport.
Several windshield mounting systems have thus been proposed. However, most mounting systems require the use of tools to install and to remove the windshield panel. With these windshield mounting systems, the process of installing or removing the windshield panel can be long and even impossible when the required tools are not available.
More recently, in order to mitigate the aforementioned shortcomings, some quick-release windshield mounting systems have been proposed, allowing the quick installation and removal of windshields without the use of tools. Examples of such quick-release windshield mounting systems can be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,044,530; 7,360,819; and 7,543,879.
In spite of the availability of many quick-release windshield mounting systems, one shortcoming has been the attachment points of these quick-release systems. Indeed, the most common and universal attachment point of most quick-release windshield mounting systems is the handlebar of the vehicle. However, handlebars are usually very busy with other accessories (e.g. hand guards, winch switch, heated handles/seats controls, etc.).
Hence, despite ongoing developments in the field of windshield mounting systems and more particularly in the field of quick-release windshield mounting systems, there is still a need for an improved mounting system which would allow quick and easy installation and removal of a windshield onto a small vehicle without the need for tools while at least mitigating some of the shortcomings of the prior art.